The mountain came to Lytham St Annes.

It took a few cameramen only a couple of sentences to charm my mum into cutting up a chocolate sponge.

All it took was “Ooh, is that real Lladro”? And “Gosh, I think they are the whitest net curtains I’ve ever seen”

The neighbours were, it has to be said, less circumspect than they might have been. Bringing chairs onto the pavement to sit on and watch was a bit over the top and I’m not sure what Sky thought about being filmed, being filmed, filming me.

Bottom line though remains as solid as a rock. Damian McBride took his instructions from the Prime Minister. He sat in the heart of Downing Street. We are in the midst of an economic crisis. We are at war in Iraq and Afghanistan and through all of this; the right hand man to the PM is inventing scurrilous lies about Conservative MPs. This Prime Minister is more concerned with holding onto power, whatever it takes and whoever he takes out, by whatever means in the process.

Great interview on Sky News. Feel like suing McBride et al ??? - Media Lawyer

You can do libel actions on CFA's these days (ironically, they were a Labour-driven policy). Interestingly, the standard remedies for defamation are:- (1) An undertaking not to publish or repeat the libel or similar libels. (2) Damages (3) An APOLOGY (which your lawyer usually drafts). If they don't give one voluntarily within protocol then the alternative is usually a statement read in open court. Para (3) above is interesting from both a political and a legal standpoint. - Media Lawyer

Go for exemplary damages (subject to what your lawyers advise, of course) and give the damages to the Conservative Party's General Election drive in marginal seats. It is only fitting that, having attempted to destabilise the Conservatives in such a maliciously false way, the guilty parties should be forced to bankroll them instead.

I've said the same on my blog about Brown. Excellent post.

Quite true, if there is an element of 'malice' then it can give rise to aggravated damages. - Media Lawyer

Nadine, I am appalled that as a committed conservative I am now obliged, through the Tax system, to pay for a civil servant to attack my own party. I would hope that the highest possible censure goes out to Gordon Brown and that he is required to fire all of these socialist acolytes who masquerade as civil servants. Please assure me that when we are in power we will abolish this insane policy of allowing the party in power to employ at the taxpayers expense civil servants who are paid to be party political.

Yes, you said it: it's all about clinging to power while they continue to destroy the country. Tha Labour party should be forced into paying however much has been stumped up for this man over the years, as his role was clearly party politically motivated.

Dear Nadine Do ask your solicitors about the tort of malicious falsehood. Best wishes Jack of Kent

Message to Damian McBride and the remaining Labour Party spin-machine: Barack Obama, arguably the most respected politician on earth, said of himself: “Junkie. Pothead. That’s where I’d been headed: the final, fatal role of the young would-be black man. . . . I got high [to] push questions of who I was out of my mind.” His admission of cocaine use - but not crack - won him more votes than it lost him. More... http://paulseaman.eu/2009/04/only-nlabour-thought-thered-be-mileage-in-gossipe/

Just make sure that McBride has been fired. What are the odds that he's been told to work from home?

Nadine, please keep a diary, when your time in politics is over, think of all the books you could sell!!

I am reminded of the old but still existing common law offence of malicious libel, and while there may or may not yet be enough evidence for this at this stage, there may be a prima facie case of conspiracy to commit malicious libel - which should be enough to ask the boys from the Yard back into Downing Street.

Nadine, I'm sorry that you should be embroiled in this appalling business, through no fault of your own. I do not, and do not wish to, know what specific allegations have been made - whatever your private life may be it is, as far as I'm concerned, private. Delighted if you can extract some money from this for a good cause but fear that, as McB was a civil servant, it will be taxpayers rather than NuLab that stumps up. It is difficult to believe that Brown did not know, in detail, what was being done. Please get your party to go after him, relentlessly. Living as I do in the next constituency to yours, I look with envy at an MP who is intelligent, principled and knowledgeable, unlike the NuLab dumb cluck of an ex-council officer we have to tolerate. (If only he kept his gaping mouth shut for photos he might at least appear less stupid.) Keep up the good work. And get Dave'n'Co to do some REAL opposing!

My apologies if I am wrong on the common law point - I'm not in a law library at the moment - but a little further research has brought up the Libel Act 1843, Lord Campbell's Act, which creates some offences around malicious defamation. Criminal offences can be investigated by the police, and at the moment we may need the police to use their powers to see how wide the conspiracy goes. The main protaganists are unlikely to volunteer the information on their own.

Are you denying the rumours on the record or off the record ?

Both. They're not rumours but fiction. He just made it up.

If there was ever a time for the occupants of Number 10 to pack their bags then this is it. Everybody including MP's from the Labour party should sign for a 'vote of no confidence' in GB. It will not save some of their seats but at least they will have some integrity left. Wishing you the best of luck today and at the next general election. Looking forward to seeing more of you on T.V. for the Conservative party.

From what I understand, these 'rumours' are in fact complete fiction. If that is the case, I reckon you have a cast-iron case of malicious libel, and I hope you pursue it to the fullest extent. Charles's idea to use any damages to fund marginal campaigns is a good one. They got away with all the others, even cash for honours: hopefully this one will stick. Best wishes to you, and keep fighting. Great post and a great blog - it's now added to my daily list.

I left a comment on your blog, but for some reason it's not been posted. The truth obviously hurts? Perhaps I should send a copy of my comment as a letter to the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper. As I said yesterday, poor show from a so called christian. Yours a Mid Bedfordshire voter.